Floor construction



Nov. 9 1926. W

8. H. CAMPBELL NSTRUCTION v Fild July 5, 1924 I 5 FlgJ. 8

INVENTOR S.H.CAMPBE LL i the plane of the body a spacing Patented Nov. 9, 1926. v

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

srnnnmen, CAMPBELL, or 551:. LOUIS,

EQUIPMENT COMPANY, or ST. LOUIS,

noon oous'rnuc'rxon.

My invention relates to floor securing means for railway cars of the general type described in Pratt United States Patent No. 1,498,119 inwhich the securing means does not pass through the floor sill.

The object of the present invention is to provide a clip for the floor construction above named which will form resilientrneans to compensate for expansion and contraction of the board due to change in atmospheric conditions.

In the accompan ing drawings which illustrate one form 0 my invention as applied to a railway car, Figure 1 is a vertlca cross section; and Figure 2 is a perspective view of the clip.

One of the floor boards 5 ct a railway car is shown as resting upon a longitudinal center sill 6 towhich it is secured by a bolt 7 passing through a bolt hole 8 formedin the board adjacent'to the edge of the horizontal flange of the sill 6. .The clip 10 is formed of a rectangular piece of sheet metal having an opening 11 for the passageof the bolt. One edge 12 of the clip is bent slightly out of of the clip so as to conform to the angle of the under face of the horiontal flange 9 of the sill. The edge opposite the edge 12 is bentupwardly to form flange 13 which should be of such depth that the body of .the clip will be substantially parallel with the floor board when in position but be spaced a substantial distance therefrom, as shown in Figure 1.

' Prongs or teeth 14 are formedon the flange 13 which prongs are forced into the floor board and prevent rotation of the clip. As

the body of the clip is entirely unsupported.

between the point of contactof the end 12 with the flange 9 and the point of contact of the flange 13 with the floor board, the resiliency or spring of the metal of the body provides compensating means for taking up any play which might otherwise occur between the clip and flange due to shrinkage of the board due to atmospheric conditions. A nut 15 threaded on the bolt 7 holds the clip in place and is turned up against the body of the clip with suificient force to slightly spring the metal of the clip. This spring is so small in practice that no at- Application filed July 5, 1924. Serial No. 724,286.

tempt It is, however, suflicient to compensate or the slight variation for the thickness of the board above referred to. In order that the compensating feature of the clip may be eflective it is of course necessary that nut It be firmly locked against accidental rotation on the bolt. This I accomplish by forming in the end of the bolt a slot 16 of suflicient is made to show it in the drawin s.

length to extend some distance within the a nut. After the nut has been screwed firmly in position a suitable tool is inserted in the slot 16 and the end of the bolt spread, as shown in Figure 1. I- find that this not only affords an eflective lock for the nut but'it allows the nut to be removed and replaced without in any way injuring the threads of either the nut or the bolt.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desir'eto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination with a car sill provided at its upper edge with a horizontal flange, of a fl'oor board supported on said flange, a bolt extending through said floor board adjacent to the edge of said flange, a clip surrounding said bolt and bearing on the lower face of said flange at one side of the bolt and on the floor board at the other side thereof, the portion of the clip between said bearing points being out of contact with the floor board and forming a resilient bearing, and means for preventing rotation f the clip.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a car sill provided at its upper edge with a horizontal flange, of a floor board supported on said flange, a bolt extending through said floor board adjacent to the edge of said flange, a clip surrounding said bolt and bearing on the lower face of said flange at one side of the bolt and on the floor board at the other side thereof, the portion of the clip between said bearing points being out 0 contact with the floor board and forming a resilient bearing, and a spur carried by said clip and entering the board to prevent rotation of the clip.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 

